Shadow Of War’s Official Launch Trailer Is Suitably Dramatic

Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment released Middle-earth: Shadow of War, the epic follow-up to the award-winning Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor, today on Xbox One, Windows 10 PC (Windows Store), Steam, and PlayStation 4. And because the game has launched, we also have a shiny new launch trailer to boot. Developed by Monolith Productions, Middle-earth: Shadow of War expands upon the studio’s innovative Nemesis System, which allows players to create and experience a personalized world that is unique to every gameplay session. Because replay value.

Middle-earth: Shadow of War continues the original narrative of Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor with the return of Talion and Celebrimbor the Bright Lord, who must forge a new Ring of Power and confront the deadliest of enemies, including Sauron and his Nazgûl, in a monumental battle for Middle-earth. This open world action RPG is fueled by the Nemesis System, which now introduces Orc Followers who bring about entirely new stories of loyalty, betrayal and revenge, as well as the addition of massive Nemesis Fortresses, which require different strategies to conquer dynamic strongholds and create personalized worlds with more choices and opportunities than ever before. So, yes, it’s a tower-defense game. And no one hates tower defense mini-games. Not at all.

Players can experience the vast open world in a host of ways to create unique personal stories. With new and improved melee, stealth and ranged combat, expanded skills and the new Ring of Power, gamers can harness the power of the Bright Lord to dominate Mordor from within. Players will encounter new and familiar allies in their quest, including Eltariel, the elite Nazgûl hunter; Baranor, the Captain of Minas Ithil; Carnán, the mysterious spirit of nature and iconic characters such as Shelob and Gollum. Alongside these allies they will face an incredible diversity of deadly foes, including Orcs, Olog-hai, monstrous beasts, the ancient Balrog Tar Goroth, fire breathing drakes, the Nazgûl and ultimately the Dark Lord, Sauron himself.

The game’s launch trailer is below.

Alongside every game’s launch trailer comes a series of prepared statements from the talking heads involved. Because that’s just what we all want.

“With Middle-earth: Shadow of War, Monolith Productions has advanced its innovative artificial intelligence technology, that is their Nemesis System from Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor, to create a gameplay experience unlike any other,” said David Haddad, President, Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment. “Players of Middle-earth: Shadow of War will encounter a totally personalized world that remembers their every move, which, along with a compelling story, should greatly please fans and new players.”

“We worked incredibly hard to massively expand Middle-earth: Shadow of War in every dimension, including the open world, the story, the RPG systems, the core gameplay and of course the personal player stories created through the expanded Nemesis System,” said Michael de Plater, Vice President, Creative, Monolith Productions. “As lifelong fans of all things Middle-earth, we are so grateful to have the privilege to bring to life the most incredible fantasy world ever, reimagined in a fresh way for fans and newcomers. We can’t wait to see the amazing stories players are going to create and share once they experience all that Middle-earth: Shadow of War has to offer.”